A New Love
by DavidRanger
Summary: Sheva is alone...her team has been killed by Umbrella for trying to stop their experiments. She is rescued by a stranger who seems to be kind, and she is drawn to him. Will she be able to love again?
1. Prologue

I was in the middle of a horde of zombies, in the basement of a factory. I was on a metal grate landing, had run out of ammo and was using my knife to keep the monsters back. Just as I cleared those immediately around me, I felt something grab my left ankle and I tripped back, dropping my knife. Now sitting, I looked down and saw a half-body zombie trying to reach me with his free hand to get a bite. "Oh no you don't!" I said as I kicked it in the head and scooted back at the same time. But the body was too light to be enough counter weight to knock the hand off. I screamed and tried harder. I saw some of its buddies come up the stairs to my right, attracted by my scream. I cursed. Great! I looked for my knife. Where was it? I was now frantic. I was about to become one of these things. Then I saw my knife down some stairs right behind me. My morale boosted, I turned myself so my belly was face down and started crawling. If I died, I died fighting. The zombies were getting closer. The one on my ankle was dead, I had kicked it enough times, but it still held on like a vice. I was just inches from my knife when I heard a _thwup_ right behind me, followed by me sliding forward down the stairs and over my knife. I looked back, and the hand was still on my ankle but disconnected from its body. I saw the zombies that were chasing me drop like flies. _Thwup_ , drop, _thwup,_ drop. Someone was shooting them...with arrows. I sighed gratefully. Thank you, whoev-ow! I felt a stinging pain come from my stomach. I didn't see the knife anymore. Where...oh no. I lifted myself and saw it lodged in my stomach. I was losing a lot of blood. Please, whoever you are, please help me. I swore I heard a pair of boots approaching as I blacked out.


	2. Chapter 1: Introductions

I awoke to the sound of a pencil scratching paper. I looked to the source of the sound, and saw a figure dressed literally from head to toe in all black, sitting at a table across from my bed. I heard him mutter some things that I couldn't make out. I noticed a dull throbbing in my abdomen then remembered everything that happened. I looked down to my wound and…it was…stitched up. Wow. It wasn't swollen or infected.

"Thank you," I said softly after clearing my throat.

"Glad to see you're awake," He responded. He had a deep voice with a flat, yet southern accent at the same time. "Forgive me if I don't turn around right away. My mask seems to scare people. I haven't had time to remove it this morning," He said as he still scratched on the paper, muttering some things to himself. I figured I'd at least introduce myself.

"I'm Sheva."

"David. My pleasure, ma'am."

"You don't have to call me that."

"I call all men sir and all women ma'am. Force of habit, I apologize if it offended you." This time he turned around, and I saw what he meant by his mask. I saw a fencing guard, the one that people wear while dueling with foils. It hid his features, though I could see a slight bit of movement as he spoke. He then surprised me even further by unzipping something on his neck then removing the mask and letting it hang behind his head. It was all one piece. Wow. He was handsome. A rugged face with a reddish hue to his Caucasian features accented his skin. His face was chiseled and long. He had dirty blond hair and striking blue eyes. He stood as he turned around. Wow, he was tall. And solid. Around 220-ish?

I looked away, blushing, "No, it didn't offend me, I just…it's…I'm not used to that."

"Most aren't," he said. I looked back and saw him smiling lightly. "How's your wound?"

"Oh, it throbs, but it doesn't hurt like it did last night."

"You mean last week?" I shot him a glance, shocked. "Four days, miss Sheva. You lost a lot of blood, ma'am. It's a miracle you're alive. How's your wound look?"

I was still reeling in my head. Four days? "Oh…" I heard a small exhale and looked to find him smiling again. It must have been a slight chuckle. He was charming. But I shook my head. I couldn't dwell on that. He was probably like all the others, just wanting something for his actions. I turned sour quickly and looked away. "It's fine," I muttered. Oh, how I wanted Chris again, to feel his touch, his warmth, his love. A tear rolled down my cheek as I thought back on my deceased would-be husband. Umbrella, I will find you, and I will end you for what you did to him, and to the rest of my team.

David was unfazed. "Good, I'm glad it's healing well. You'll need at least a week before you can move around outside of here." I shrugged. "Alright, I'm heading to bed. Good night…er…morning," he said as he went to leave the room. "There's plenty of books to read in the living room, if you get bored," he said. "If you need anything, knock on my door. Last one down the hall on the right."

I heard the door to my room close then actually looked at my surroundings. I got up slowly due to my wound and looked outside. We were in a cabin in the country. I gasped as I took in the beauty. There were animals walking around, uninfected. I didn't see a single trace of city anywhere. I wanted to walk to the living room to explore my new residence, but my stomach hurt too much. I ran into something as I turned around, and looked down. A wheelchair? Wow. He was really taking care of me. NO! I shook my head. He's just doing this to get something in return. I shuddered as I sat down in the mobile device. And he wasn't going to get it.

I wheeled my way to the living room and saw nothing fictional on the bookshelves. I was fascinated. He had books on history, science, biology, fun facts of the universe, a world atlas, encyclopedias galore…wow. Biographies on missionaries, evangelists, presidents and other historical people of note…character studies on Bible characters…Bibles. I took one of the books down to take a peek. It was titled, "Birds of prey". About an hour later, I decided to put the book down and look around the house. This was an interesting day. As I rolled around, I came to a door that was all black, when all the others matched the cabin. Hmmm. What's he hiding, I wonder? I was surprised to find it unlocked. When I rolled inside, it was dark. I turned on the lights and was awestruck. There were enough weapons, food, supplies, etc. to supply a small army in here. Who in the world was this man? I backed out of the room and turned off the light. I thought back to David. He seemed like he only talked when necessary. He didn't even try to make conversation. Odd. Even Chris made conversation. I thought that this was enough excitement for the day, so I went to my room and laid down. I couldn't get my mind off of my rescuer. "Who are you?" I whispered. Bibles…no books of fiction…pinpoint accuracy with arrows…a body suit that looked like armor…I finally drifted off to sleep.

~~David's POV~~

I was puzzled and at the same time not, at Sheva's reaction. She was a lady, susceptible to mood changes more than men. I sighed as I got out of the shower. Hopefully she could use the wheelchair well. My head shot up as I heard the supply room chime go off. Oh, I had forgot to lock it. I viewed the camera, and Sheva was admiring the stash I had in here. She then backed out and closed the door. Good, she had a good heart, not trying to steal anything. But I could tell _something_ was eating at her. Something. Hopefully, she would open up. I hated seeing people suffer in silence when help was right there. I said a prayer for God to help her to come out of her state of depression…or…whatever it was.

I thought about this cabin, the one I had found. It was in a secluded part of the forest. The infected hadn't been within miles of this place, so we were safe. I had stocked it when I raided the local military base, about a year ago. Thankfully, modern military rations last for years, if they remain sealed. We had enough food and supplies to last for more than three years, not to mention we could hunt and forage in the forest. Wait, I just said _we_ in my mind. Well, there _was_ more than one person now. It was comforting, to know there was someone else here, albeit not wanting to converse. Her wound should be healed enough to go out and about in a week or so. I prayed for her, that God would help her to deal with whatever grief she was going through. When the time came, I would ask her, to help her, but not yet. Not anytime soon. "Good night, Sheva," I whispered. It was my obligation to take care of her. Not because she's attractive (she is very beautiful), but because she's human, and I have two great loves. God, then Humanity. She may not like the royal treatment, but I would never settle for less, no matter who I took under my wing.

Under my wing…I thought about all the friends I lost to the outbreak. I thought of my parents, who I didn't even know if they were alive; my wife, who was now a zombie, and my son and daughter, who would have been 4 and 5, respectively. I mourned long ago. That time was over. My late wife's soul is in heaven, along with my children. "I'll see you soon," I muttered as I drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 2: Conversations

~~One Month Later (Sheva's POV)~~

I got up earlier than normal and noticed David was gone, again. I was beginning to miss his presence. After our first meeting, he retracted himself substantially. I actually _had_ to ask him for help a few times due to my wound. He would only talk to me if I started the conversation. I shook my head. David, you are an interesting man, indeed. After living with you for a month, you haven't even _tried_ flirting with me. What resolution causes you to be so strong while a woman is in the same house with you, half of the time within arm's reach? It was baffling…to put it lightly.

He returned to the cabin in about an hour. He was sweating. I hmphed and looked away. No. I was _not_ going to be attracted to him. Never. He walked to his room without saying a word. He returned to find me preparing breakfast. He went to the cupboard, pulled out some condensed milk and cereal. He got a bowl and some water then went to open the milk.

"Um," I said. He looked up at me. "I, uh, was going to make some breakfast, if you, uh, don't mind?" For the first time since I arrived, he smiled. "I was wondering when you'd come around," he said.

I shrugged, returning my gaze to the pan. I at least needed to do _something_ to pull my weight around here. I had the breakfast done in a short time and set out the plates. "This is good," he commented.

"Yeah right," I mumbled.

"No, really, it's awesome."

"Whatever," I said, blushing.

"Sheva?"

"Mhmm." I didn't look up from my plate. I saw him lean forward out of my peripheral.

"I've been praying for you."

My head shot up. "W…what?"

He just looked at me. "I don't know much about you, but let me tell you, prayer has brought me through a lot. I've lost a lot of things very dear to me. However, I've been able to pull through. Would you like to know how?"

"Hate."

He shook his head. "Nope. Love and prayer."

I scoffed. "What do you know about love?"

"More than you think."

"Try me."

He said nothing, but went to his room. He returned with a small book. "This is my journal. Please, open it." He handed it to me.

I set it down and opened the first page, and my heart stopped beating at the sight of what was in front of me. I sat and stared silently in shock for several minutes, then slowly closed the journal and slid it back to him. "That photo was taken right before I lost them," he said. I just stared at my lap, so utterly ashamed of myself. How could I treat him like that? I had lost my team, my fiancé, but…a whole family? He had had a family. Now he was alone. And he wasn't even bitter? How? We sat there in silence for a while.

"Your food's getting cold, Sheva."

I didn't respond. I slid back from the table and went to my room. Forget the food. I just…couldn't believe myself. This was a man that was married, had two children, and it was all taken from him in the outbreak. I just laid on my bed, sobbing into my pillow. He had been without someone for…how long? Yet he had no bitterness. How? He wasn't even bitter to me. The part that shook me most was that she was darker than me. He had loved someone of African descent, but he never came close to making a move on me. I was in shock. How? I kept asking myself over and over again. I didn't want to move.

After I was done berating myself, I decided to do something I had not done in a while. I picked out some clothes David had found on one of his nightly missions. It was a long dress, similar to the one his wife had on in the picture. It had a high neckline. Good. His wife was dressed pretty modestly, as did he. He never let me see anything but his head and arms. I went to the bathroom and readied myself. I was about to go on a date, in the living room. I did my hair as well as possible, found some shoes that matched my dress, and went to the living room. I heard snoring. David was asleep. I had to thank him. He probably wasn't ready for a relationship, so I just wanted to look nice for him, just to talk. Like a first date. I knocked on his door. "Hum, wha? Uh, hello?"

"Hey David," I said softly. "Can you come out here?"

"Uh…sure. Gimme one sec."

"Can you uh, wear something…formal?"

He cracked his door. "Wh-oh." His jaw hit the floor. I simply smiled. "Um, Sheva?" He asked, ogling.

"David, I would like to have a date with you in the living room."

He shook his head quickly after admiring my dress, his eyes _never_ lingering over one spot. I smiled. He was so modest. That was what was so charming about him. "Uh, accepted?"

I smiled. "Don't be late," I teased. He closed the door and I waited for him. He came out in an Army dress uniform. He looked…dashing. Yes, that was the word. I went to stand, but he stopped me with his hand.

"A lady never stands in the presence of men. It's always the other way around. May I have this seat, Miss Sheva?"

I giggled. "Why, yes, sir David. You may." He bowed slightly and sat down on the loveseat, across from me on the couch.

"What can I get for you today, Miss?" He said as he held his hands like a waiter waiting to take an order.

I smiled. I had not seen this side of David. I knew why. But, today that was changing. Whether we grew affectionate towards each other or not, we needed to open up. "Oh, some conversation with a dance on the side would be nice," I said, playing along.

He scribbled on his imaginary pad. "Coming right up!" I giggled again. He was so nice, and funny. I wish I had seen him like this earlier.

We talked about our lives before the outbreak. He grew up in Washington State, so here in Denver was not that bad for him in the winter. He shared his childhood with me, and I did in kind. We stopped there, as anything past that was sorrow. Not today. No sorrow today.

A couple of hours later, I stood up. Much to my surprise, so did he. Oh, so very chivalrous. "I will have that dance now, if you please," I said, holding out my hand. He walked towards a small boombox he had found, and clicked a few times on his MP3 player attached to it. "Do you like Gospel?" He asked. I shrugged. "Anything is better than silence." He smiled that charming smile. "This is called 'New Jerusalem' by Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir." **(It's an actual song)** He held out his hand as the music played. "It's lovely," I said as we joined hands. We locked each other's eyes as we swayed back and forth, no specific routine in mind. This was…just…beautiful.


	4. Chapter 3: First Mission

~~David's POV~~

Click. Click. Click.

I laid the final magazine to the side when the last of the darts were loaded. I was thankful that the knowledge of how to make them was in a survival book I had found last year. I'd have already run out of ammo otherwise.

I heard a door open, and a tired looking Sheva came around the corner. She had on a sweatshirt and some loose pants that did not pronounce her feminine features, bit did not hide them either. She looked beautiful. "Morning," she yawned as she poured a bowl of cereal. "Morning Sheva," I said smiling. She returned the smile with a tired face and another yawn. She looked cute doing that. I admired her just for a second. A second too late.

"What?" she said, noticing my stare.

"Oh, uh, I'm sorry, um it's uh, nothing," I said looking down. I felt my cheeks redden.

"David..." I looked up at my name. The way she said it was...as if she was troubled. "I..." she shifted in her seat, "did I make you uncomfortable last night?"

I cocked my head to the side. "Of course not. Why do you ask?"

She took a breath and continued. "When we...danced, you didn't...um..."

"Put my hands in the normal spot?"

"Well, yes."

I smiled softly and leaned forward slightly. "Sheva, sometimes my chivalry makes me look like a fool, or like I'm afraid of women. I put my hands on your shoulders because I consider anything else to be intimate. I was not uncomfortable at all dancing with you last night. I enjoyed it very much. If I seem weird, please forgive me. I'm more comfortable around you than most people I've run into in the last year. And I don't mean infected ones," I said with a wink.

She giggled a little at that. "Oh whew. I thought I had crossed some boundary."

I chuckled. "If you do, you'll be the first one I'll tell."

Sheva smiled. "I'm...I'm glad we met, David."

"As am I. It's been passing the time well, conversing with a friend."

She looked up from her cereal, a look of mixed emotions etched on her face. Had I said something wrong?

Suddenly her eyes started watering and she put her spoon down and covered her face. She got up to go to her room, and this time I followed her. She must have heard me behind her, as she didn't close her door.

I stood at the threshold, watching helplessly as my only friend in the world was holding her face, sitting on her bed. Her hands, sleeves and pants were getting wet from her tears. "May I come in?" I asked. I thought I saw a nod, but she was shaking with her crying so I couldn't tell. I sat down next to her and put my hand on her shoulder. "Sheva, shhh, it's ok." I said rubbing her shoulder softly.

"No...no...it's...it's not," She said between sobs. I looked at her with concern, wondering what was bothering her so. "You've...you've done nothing but good to me, and...and all I've done is hurt...you David... You...called me...a...a friend...though I...I don't feel like one."

"Sheva, I appreciate you. I really do. I forgive you Sheva. Don't beat yourself up over it. Promise?"

She raised her head to meet my gaze. "David..." she said as she wrapped her arms around me, "thank you for being so kind, and I'm so sorry for everything. You deserve better-"

I silenced her with a finger to her lips. "You are my friend. Don't forget it," I said then tapped her nose with my finger. I smiled and got up from the bed, Sheva reluctantly breaking the embrace. "Let's go finish breakfast, shall we?" I held my arm out like an English gentleman.

~~Sheva's POV~~

We moved silently through the building, taking down beasts and zombies as we went. David refused to let me come on a mission with him until he had made me a full body suit like his. I learned that the suit was made of two layers of Hemp, one of the strongest fibers used for clothing with a layer of titanium fiber in between. It would literally stop a chainsaw. The weight took some getting used to, but after a week I was ready.

It had been over a month since I had opened up to him, yet he respected me enough to let me take each step in our relationship. Every time I hugged, he wouldn't refuse. When I wanted to be alone, he withdrew. One day, last week, he had called me beautiful. I didn't know what to do. I was so flabbergasted that the man I had come to grow so fond of called me beautiful. I wanted to get closer, to kiss him, to hold him close at night, but I kept thinking of my late teammates, and Chris.

"Sheva, this way." I followed him down a hallway and we came through a door. Everything was dark, we had shut the lights to the building prior to entering. The NVG tech he had garnered was exceptionally helpful on our missions. This was the first we were on together, and it was exhilarating. I was excited to be back in the fight. One day, two weeks ago, he came back elated.

" _Sheva, I found them."_

" _Found who?"_

" _Umbrella. I found their compound."_

 _I couldn't conceal my excitement. "Really?! Oh this is great!" I could finally get my revenge._

" _Yes, it is. And guess what else?"_

" _What?" I couldn't wait._

" _I've finished your suit. It's in the supply room. You can try it on whenever you want."_

We were now in their compound, underground. It looked like another hive, from what I had read about the first one.

"Sheva," David whispered, "This next room is the one we talked about, filled to the brim with Infected. Mostly the slow ones, but some dogs and a creature."

I nodded. "You have the amplifier?"

He patted the device hanging from his hip. "Remember the plan. I take out the creature and the dogs while you keep the slow ones away from me."

I holstered my pistol and pulled my crossbow from my shoulder. Every ranged weapon we had was either a silenced firearm or shot silent ammunition, such as the crossbow. It was the most effective, as it could carry virtually unlimited ammo due to the low weight of darts.

David looked through the glass and scanned the room. "Ok, looks the same… Let's do this. Oh great." He sighed.

"What?" I whispered.

"There's two of the creatures now. They must have known someone was here before."

"What? They're intelligent?"

"No, Umbrella. They put more in here to keep intruders like us out. It's the only way into the research area."

I shook my head. How could someone use former humans as mindless weapons? Was there more to Uroboros and the original virus than meets the eye?

"1…"

I readied my crossbow, silently cycling a dart. He had the amplifier in hand, sword in the other. It was a concentrated-noise device that could focus on a single target or a wide area. He found that it essentially broke the composition of the infected down almost immediately because of the vibration it caused. This means any infected it was intended for dropped instantly.

"2…"

 _God, protect us. You love us. I love him. Please help us through this._ I thought a silent prayer.

"3.." And he opened the door.


	5. Chapter 4: Mission Continued

David entered the pitch black room and started slicing silently through zombie after zombie, smoothly and quickly. The fluidity of his movements was mesmerizing. I didn't focus on that, though as I had a job to do. The platform that the door opened to was small, the size of a standard landing. I was to remain there and defend David from anything that he didn't see coming, especially while he was taking care of the creatures. I didn't see them just yet, but David had. I assumed he was moving in their direction.

I saw a dog jump up from his right while he was taking out a zombie to his left, leaving his right side wide open. The dog wouldn't hurt him with his suit on, but the scuffle that would've ensued would attract the creatures. I took aim, and thwup – bullseye. Sheva, 1. Zombies, 0. I heard what I thought was a scream come from the far point of the room to my left. It was…inhuman. I looked out of reflex to find the source and was shocked at what I saw. I was able to take in the entirety of the room now. It was a huge multi-level mechanical room, where the machines that kept the facility running were housed. There were pipes everywhere going over and under the metal-grate stairs and walkways that wove themselves around the room. You could walk just about anywhere in here using them.

But what shocked me was the creatures themselves. There were two just as David had said. They looked similar to the "lickers" that Chris and I tangled with in Africa, but stood on two feet. I turned my gaze back to David, and saw he was fighting a dog. The fight ended quickly, the dog was now in two pieces and David kept moving. I scolded myself for losing sight of him. After a several minutes of dispatching zombie and dog, David came within a few feet of the beasts. A dog approached him from behind and my dart found its mark. I kept more zombies and dogs at bay while David un-holstered the sonic amplifier and turned it on. The lickers turned toward the sound of the switch clicking, and both fell swiftly as he pulled the trigger.

The entire walkway, to include my little landing, shook as the weight of the beasts came down. David fell on his rump and I tensed. I searched for more zombies coming his way and took several of them down. A dog was getting closer, too close. I turned my sights back to it just as David regained his footing and let loose a dart. Agh! It missed. David turned around in time to see the dog in midair, flying straight towards him. I closed my eyes. I didn't want to see what would happen. I opened them a second later and saw David again getting up from the ground, looking at the fallen mutt. It had apparently traveled past him and was lying on the grated floor, a knife stuck through its jaw and out of the skull. My jaw dropped. Just…wow. How did he do that?

David then recovered the amplifier he had dropped with the scuffle with the dog as well as the knife, and began clearing the room. I gaped as I saw the full potency of this device. Zombie upon zombie, infected dog upon infected dog fell into pieces simultaneously with each pull of the trigger. Once my radar showed there was no more movement in the vicinity, we met together in the center of the room. "That…was amazing," I gushed. David scoffed lightly. "Let's be going. We have to find the server room," he responded and walked toward the elevator on the far side of the room.

"Wait, isn't the power off? I thought we cut off the main power source."

"Yes, we did. Rooms such as this currently have no light. However, every major building has a backup power source. We mainly needed the lack of light for this room. You coming?" He positioned himself on the large industrial elevator and waited. I shook my head and walked forward, joining him.

"I hope you're right," I muttered. I felt a jerk as the elevator began to move down. I saw that the 8th floor button was pressed. I didn't even see him press it. "You know where we're going?"

"I got a schematic when I was here last. Our current mission is to get to the server room and download every file Umbrella has. It's on the 8th floor, and heavily guarded. Lights will be on on that floor."

I nodded, noting the change in situation and analyzing my gear. We readied our weapons as we arrived at the floor in question. The door rose up and we were met with...nothing. Not a soul. I scanned to the left of the elevator door while he scanned right. It made sense since he was left-handed and I was right. There was a hall in front of the elevator leading directly away from the door and it seemed that we were at a T intersection of halls. The coast being clear, David led me down the hallway to the right. "Contact," I whispered into my mic. David nodded. There were two dots on our radar, ahead and to the left. David got down on his belly and crawled forward to the next intersecting hallway. He used a corner camera to see what was down the hall. My goodness, what devices does this man _not_ have?

"There are two more creatures like those in the room. Follow me and stay close," he said as he produced an olive-colored cylinder from his bandolier. A grenade? He popped the pin and a few seconds later grey smoke began billowing out. He held it around the corner and began to walk forward slowly with it in his hand. His other hand held the sound amplifier. I barely heard the creatures begin to shuffle and move over the sound of the hissing grenade. I suddenly felt a vibration through my _whole body._ What in the world was that? I stopped and saw David lift the amplifier, aiming in front of him and pull the trigger. I felt the vibration again. Wow. My belief the power of this device just became more concrete.

I tripped over something and looked down. I saw it was the body of a creature, without its head. Oh. _That_ was what the first vibration was from. Wait. How did he…see…it in…the…smoke? I shook my head. David you get more mysterious as the days go by; all the more reason to get to know you better. A smile crept up to my face as the thought crossed my mind. We had finally cleared the smoke and David had gotten a door open, beckoning me to follow him in. I complied, and we entered what must have been the server room David mentioned. It was just _full_ of servers, lined across the walls and in several stacks in the middle of the floor. There was just enough room to move around the black-colored devices.

David produced what looked like a scanner from his pack and hooked it up to what looked like a PC in the far corner. A few minutes passed with him at the PC and me guarding the door. "Done," I heard him say with a sigh. "Let's get back to the cabin."


	6. Chapter 5: Discoveries

We exited the room quickly and were stopped by a horde of zombies and dogs. David grabbed my arm as I was slightly in front of him, and he put me behind him, almost throwing me. As I regained my balance, I saw the hordes fall group by group as he used the amplifier as before. A couple dogs got past him and came straight for me. By this time I had regained my composure and dispatched one of them with my crossbow, but the other latched onto my left arm. I screamed, and tried getting it off. I couldn't feel its teeth, thank God it couldn't break through the body armor. I suddenly felt the weight go slack, but the dog's mouth was still latched on until I shook my arm and it fell, next to its body. I looked up and David was holding his sword, carving through the remains of the horde. I drew my own after shouldering my crossbow and followed suit.

The mechanical room had begun to be filled again with those creatures, but we made our way past as there weren't many. Umbrella hadn't had time to refill the room completely, thank God. I stopped when I saw something on some stairs that looked very familiar. My knife. It was covered in dry blood, my blood. It was on a landing at the bottom of some stairs, the place where…WAIT!

I looked up at my savior, who was waiting at the exit door, his head cocked to the side, obviously wondering why I was standing there. I was in no immediate danger, but the realization of this just hit me. I was broken from my trance by a voice in my earpiece, "Sheva, let's go." I nodded slowly and moved forward. My knife could stay here. I didn't need it. It was a basic combat knife that worked when I used it. As we exited the building, the realization was still resting heavily upon me.

We reached our pickup truck in 30 minutes. We always parked on the outskirts of the city where no infected were, and we always did it in the dead of night, like tonight. We got in the cab and David started it up. As we traveled down the road to the mountain where the cabin was, I thought over everything. That mechanical room was where David had originally found me. He most likely had been tracking umbrella already when he rescued me. He was so close to ending them…yet he put it all off…for me. The shock of the situation now finally settling in, I sat quiet for the ride home. David could see something was bothering me, so he left it alone.

The next morning, David was sitting at the kitchen table with his laptop, researching the information he downloaded. "Morning," I said, sleepily but friendly. He turned around, smiling as he said, "Hey Sheva," then turned back to the computer.

"Did you sleep last night?"

"No, I didn't."

"Up all night on the computer?"

"Yeeup." He wasn't ignoring me, just focused on the screen.

"You should go to bed."

"Nah. I'll be alright."

"It wasn't a suggestion." I set my newly prepared bowl of cereal down across from him as I sat to eat. I prayed my thanks and dove in.

He chuckled. "Giving orders now, eh?" He glanced up at me, smirking.

"Every man needs a lady to help him think."

He looked away from the computer with a blank expression and a small sigh, then saved what he was doing on the laptop and closed it, turning it off. "Goodnight." He got up and walked towards his room.

"David?" I spoke softly.

He stopped before reaching the hallway. As always, his acknowledgement was looking at me. He leaned his shoulder against the wall.

"I…I didn't mean anything-"

He cut me off. "Are you sure?"

I looked down at my lap. He had got me.

"Sheva, I'm…sorry if I've been standoffish, I just…" he ran his hands down his face and shook his head. "I really don't know how to process the thoughts and feelings in my head and heart right now."

That got me to look up quickly. He cared about me? He hid his emotions well. Too well. We stayed silent, looking at each other for a few seconds then looking away. This repeated for a couple of minutes before David stood up from leaning on the wall and slowly turned towards the hallway.

"David…" I whispered.

He looked back, his back still to me, but making eye contact.

I got up and slowly walked over to him, then moved in front of him, putting my hands on his shoulders. "You saved me when you were in the Umbrella compound-"

"I didn't know it was the main one," he cut me off, knowing where I was going. "I would have done it for anyone, Sheva. All I saw was a hu-mph."

That was all I needed to hear. I cut him off with a gentle kiss to his lips. He did it just for life. Not because of me, but just his love for humanity. That's the way Chris was. This was meant to be. This…relationship was meant to bud and blossom. I broke the kiss slowly, looking into his eyes and him into mine.

"Wha…what was that f-" I kissed him again, this time a little more passionately. He responded, our mouths slowly becoming one. This time, he wrapped his arms around me and I did the same. We broke after a few minutes and looked into each other's' eyes again. Nothing needed to be said. "Thank you," he whispered, leaning his forehead against mine. "Sheva…thank you." I saw tears start to flow. He had been holding this in for quite some time. He was now letting it out. This was meant to be. Shortly thereafter he headed to bed and I powered up the laptop to read through while I ate breakfast.


End file.
